Undetermined · NTSB CEN24LA157
PIPER PA-28-161 — Montmorenci, IN
| Date | April 12, 2024 |
| Location | Montmorenci, IN |
| Aircraft | PIPER PA-28-161 |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Night · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Enroute-cruise Security/criminal event |
| Pilot age | 20 |
| Pilot total time | Unknown |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot’s intentional flight into terrain as an act of suicide.
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Miscellaneous-Intentional act-Suicide-Pilot
What happened
The pilot departed on a local night flight, conducted four traffic pattern landings, and then climbed to about 4,000 ft mean sea level. About 10 miles from the airport, ADS-B data showed the airplane made numerous turns before data ended. The airplane was located the next day in an agricultural field; it was destroyed by impact forces.
Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not identify any anomalies that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane. The pilot left behind two notes suggesting that he was going to commit suicide. Following a death investigation, the county coroner classified the manner of death as a suicide.